As Halloween passes and Thanksgiving approaches, plans are underway to welcome in the Christmas and holiday season with the 28th annual AWB Holiday Kids' Tree Project. AWB hosts the lighting of the tree in the state Capitol rotunda each December. A special part of the event is the presentation of toys and cash gifts for rural fire districts to give out to needy families across the state.

Since 1989, the AWB Holiday Kids' Tree Project has raised and given away more than $370,000 to families in need. Firefighters have mentioned that these donations are often the only funds they receive to help families in need during the holiday season.

Mark your calendars for the public tree lighting ceremony, sponsored by AWB. It will be held at 6 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 2, in the Capitol Rotunda in Olympia. The theme for this year's tree decorations will be "under the sea," and will again feature stuffed characters from some of popular kids’ movies and television programs as tree ornaments. As always, when the tree comes down, those stuffed animals along with a book are given to children receiving care at Seattle’s Children’s Hospital.

Two of Puget Sound's biggest aerospace companies are working hard to cut emissions as part of the regional efforts to combat climate change, a new report says.

Boeing Co. and Alaska Air Group each adopted a series of small but important measures that can make a difference, according to a new Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce report.

Entitled "Bright Green in an Emerald City," the report lists dozens of examples of emission-reduction efforts at companies, a university and some non-profits.

Boeing and Alaska Airlines are praised for developing shorter, more precise routes for incoming aircraft traffic flying into Seattle-Tacoma International Airport... Every Sea-Tac flight using such approaches conserves an average of 87 gallons of fuel, and saves passengers nine minutes of flying, the Seattle Chamber's report said.

Greenhouse gas emissions reduced with each of these flights equals to what a small car would use, driving all the way from Seattle to Minneapolis, the report added.

Washington state employers are proven leaders and innovators in energy conservation, carbon reduction and environmental efforts.

The record proves this is already taking place without a carbon tax, but rather through innovation and collaboration.

Washington's population has increased 43 percent since 1990 and the economy has grown 260 percent, yet carbon emissions are down 18 percent, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

From small operations to large steel mills, companies have built sustainability and environmental stewardship into their operations, not as an afterthought.

Despite this solid environmental record, voters will be faced with a choice to raise the cost of energy -- the engine that keeps Washingtonians moving and warm -- through Initiative 732. It would put in place a carbon tax under the guise of doing what employers and residents are already doing -- lowering carbon emissions. But, it is not without risk to the economy, K-12 education and our low- and fixed-income neighbors...